Increasingly, the popularity of using water as an integral part of domestic landscaping has moved landscapers to push further and further into decorative aspects for these water features. These features are incorporated through swimming pools, spas, ponds, lakes and other water features and sources in the typical yard. In addition to the natural beauty associated with these features by applying the proper lighting the beauty of these water features can be extended to include evening viewing and operation.
Typically, underwater lighting systems for such applications as spas, pools, and hot tubs use a 12-volt incandescent light bulb that screws into a molded plastic water-sealed housing. An example of the conventional, high intensity incandescent pool lighting system that uses a watertight compartment to contain a high intensity bulb or filament and passes the light through a lens to the pool can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 6,203,173 to Duff et al. The housings are typically mounted below the spa or pool water level. This provides an attractive colored glow to the water in pools, tubs, and spas when in operation. It also provides an added safety measure on entry and exit. Variations in color are typically provided for through snap-on lenses, usually in red and blue tints, to alter the appearance and effect of the spa lighting.
However, these incandescent bulb systems have a number of disadvantages. Two of the principal disadvantages are a lack of reliability and durability. An incandescent bulb system frequently fails during its initial warranty period. The bulbs of these systems are typically only rated for about one thousand hours of operational life. With two to three hours of use per day, the bulb will typically require replacement yearly. The bulb filament is also very fragile, making transport and installation problematic. This is true even after installation as the high temperatures needed during operation continue to make the filament susceptible to damage from swimmers impacts with the device. This means that the system is difficult to maintain and even when properly maintained it can be easily damaged during normal operation.
These disadvantages are coupled with the fact that incandescent bulbs are inefficient and convert most of their energy to heat with as little as 10% of their energy producing light. This inefficiency is further compounded by the fact that in heretofore known designs the light must be transmitted across a gap in the bulb and/or housing and then through a lens prior to reaching the transmission horizon with the water of the spa or pool resulting in further losses. Thus, the typical incandescent system is unreliable, fragile, and inefficient at transmitting luminosity into the spa or pool.
Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology is generally more durable and longer lasting. Because of these qualities, LED systems have been applied in numerous lighting appliances, from handheld lamps to traffic lights. These LED systems have significant advantages in longevity and cost in comparison to incandescent lighting systems and can successfully replace incandescent systems. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,165,778 and 5,211,469 to Matthias et al. depict the use of a single LED located at the end of a wire and placed within an aquarium at a desired location within or near an ornamental object placed inside the aquarium to replace an incandescent bulb lighting system. Though these systems provide for waterproof LEDs, the lighting board and controllers are not encased in a singular housing encasing all the components necessary for pool or spa lights. Moreover, there is no lens housing with a diffuser or similar structure that is necessary for illuminating a pool or larger body of water.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,561,346 to Byrne depicts an LED lamp construction for a traffic light for providing a low voltage light means for traffic signals. The colors are provided by the colored lenses generally attached to traffic signal lamps are known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 5,890,794 to Abtahi, et al shows a further utilization of LED technology in an oil filled lighting unit. The lighting unit is comprised of LEDs that are in direct contact with the oil. The oil is chosen for its specific refractory properties and provides improved cooling and brightness. However, this system is ill suited for use in pools. Though the LEDs are waterproofed by an encapsulation layer, the transmission through the oil to the lens provides only a limited increase in the transmission of luminosity of the LEDs. The system fails to show an LED pool or spa lamp with a lens body with the LEDs encapsulated within the lens body.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,927,845 to Gustafson et al. shows a light strip with an n integral LED. The LED strip contains led within a thermoplastic housing to waterproof the LEDs. This is accomplished, as shown, by sandwiching the LEDs in two layers of the encapsulating material. This process does not provide for the type of housing utilized in the creation of a spa or pool light, as the shape and diffuser elements cannot be attained.
However, use of LED technology is also known in the art of pool and spa lighting. U.S. Pat. No. 6,616,291 to Love discloses an LED pool light with a plurality of multi-color LEDs that are held in a watertight compartment within a housing. The watertight compartment is used to protect the LED and its printed circuit board from the pool water. However, the air space diminishes the full transmission of the luminosity of the LED board and does not provide for additional cooling. It also increases the production costs of the LED pool light disclosed, requiring additional manufacturing to provide the compartment.
Similarly, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,528,954 to Lys et al., a “smart” spa bulb is provided, having an LED array and a controller in a replacement bulb configuration. The bulb retains the shape and configuration of an incandescent system and acts as a direct replacement. However, the system still maintains a watertight air gap that decreases the transmission of light into the pool or spa and does not provide for sufficient heating of the LED elements. This is further compounded by the watertight space between the lens of the “bulb” and the lens that interfaces with the pool or spa.
Likewise, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,184,628 to Ruthenberg and U.S. Pat. No. 6,435,691 to Macey, et al. an LED lighting board is provided in a fixture with a lens and a watertight compartment separating the LEDs from the lens as disclosed. Again, a gap or watertight air space is provided between the lens and the LED lighting board. This reduces the efficiency of the transmission of light from the LEDs to the pool or spa. It does not allow for the more efficient cooling that is achieved by omitting the watertight compartment nor does it provide the improved cooling and reduced cost associated with omitting these gaps.
None of the aforementioned devices provides the ability to maximize the intensity and transmission of the light from the LED into the spa or pool and provide cooling of the LEDs, allowing them to be run at a higher intensity, through direct contact of the LEDs with a lens body within the fixture to the water. Additionally, no feature has been able to achieve the desired superior luminescence, efficiency, and coloring while maintaining durability, increasing dependability, increasing ease of maintenance, and decreasing manufacturing costs. There exists a need to safely and costs effectively provide a greater luminescence and durability within the spa or pool light. There should also be a greater ability to control and color the pool or spa, including the ability to color wash and transition between colors within a pool or spa.